Blower wheel construction



Dec. l, 1959 J. F. KocHEvAR ET AL 2,915,240

BLOWER WHEEL CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 26, 1956 `United* States PatentBLOWER WHEEL CONSTRUCTION Joseph F. Kochevar and John H. Reichwein,Dundee, Ill.,

assignors to Revcor, Inc., Carpentersville, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Application September 26, 1956, Serial No. 612,231

'4 Claims. (Cl. 230-134) The present invention relates to an improvedblower construction and a method for producing the same.

The manufacture of centrifugal blower assemblies com; posed of vanes orblades arranged about concentric supporting rings or plates hadheretofore been open to one or more serious objections. Heretofore, if arigid blower wheel construction was desired, it was necessary that theblades be composed of heavy gauge materials, if they were elongate innature.

It is apparent that with blades of considerable length, flexing of theunsupported blade center portlons causes wheel vibration duringoperation. Thus, if the length of the blower was substantial, onepractice was followed of securing the inner ends of two sets of uniformblades to a centrally disposed plate member and securing the outer endof each series of such blades to one of two opposed slotted end rings.The two sets of blades were secured to the center plate by staggeringthe connecting arrangement thereof about the plate periphery. Othermethods of securing elongate blower blades to a central plate or spidermember are found in the prior art which are tedious and time-consumingresulting in great eX- pense of manufacture.

It has been found in accordance with the teachings of this inventionthat a rigid blower assembly which may be composed of blades of thingauge materials is possible if a novel method of attaching a pluralityof elongate blower vanes to a center plate is followed.

It is an object, therefore, of this invention to provide a novel methodfor assembling blower blade members to a blade-supporting plate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rigid blowerassembly which does not require the use of discrete securing means orwelding or similar operations.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a method formaking blower wheels which is highly efcient and particularly adaptedfor high-speed production.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel blowerassembly which is composed of a minimum number of basic components whichare all inexpensive to fabricate.

The above and other objects of this invention will become more apparentupon proceeding with the following description when read in the light ofthe accompanying drawing and appended claims.

In one embodiment of the provided blower construction a central platewhich is uniformly slotted about its periphery is provided together withtwo apertured end plates. A plurality of blade members are also utilizedin the blower construction which are snugly receivable within thecentral plate slots. Formed integrally with opposed ends of each blademember are lugs or ears of reduced cross section. The blades arearranged so as to traverse the central plate and become secured to theopposed end rings by having the lugs or ears thereof traverse theapertures disposed in the rings; the lugs ICC are thereafter bent so asto lockinglyiengage the end rings.

The central portion of the center plate comprises a hub for purposes ofbeing secured to a drive shaft which is driven by a motive means such asa motor or the like.

Following the blade assembly with the concentrically aligned centerplate and end rings, the blades are locked to the center plate by meansof the following procedure. vA deforming wheel having a centrallydisposed recess in the periphery thereof is arranged so as to enable thecentral recess thereof to engage and ride about the periphery of thecenter plate traversed by the blower blades. The opposed raised wheelportions defining the central wheel recess depend a suicient vdistancealong the opposed surfaces of the center plate so as to shear blade edgeportions disposed toward the center plate periphery and deform the samethereby defining opposed shoulder portions which lock each blade memberto the center ring. After the deforming wheel has traveled about theentire center plate periphery, each blade will be rigidly securedthereto whereby relative movement between the latter blower componentsis prevented.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference shouldnow be had to the drawing wherein .Figure 1 is a front elevational viewof a centrifugal blower made in accordance with the teachings of thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view ofthe blower of Fig. l partly insection taken'on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 illustrated in cooperatingrelationship with a deforming wheel;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a blade member uti' lized in theillustrated blower construction;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a ,deforming wheel member inthe process of engaging a central blade portion of the illustratedblower construction;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a diametrical sectional view of the deforming wheelillustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, a fan orblower wheel 10 is illustrated which is of the multiple blade type. Inthe latter type of blower construction, air is taken into the blower ateach axial end and discharged radially of the wheel for peripheraldischarge from a fan housing outlet. The latter housing is not shownsince the presentinvention is primarily concerned with a vblower wheelconstruction and the method of making the same.

The blower wheel 10 comprises a center plate 12 which has a centralbearing or hub portion 14. The latter hub portion is adapted to be keyedor otherwise suitably secured to a rotatable drive shaft member notshown which will impart rotational movement to the blower wheel, Sincein some blower constructions it may be desirable to have blower portionsof unequal length on opposite sides of the plate 12, the term centerplate in the claims where used shall be constructed to mean a platewhich is disposed intermediate the ends of the blower. As will be moreclearly seen in Fig. 2, the central plate 12 is slotted uniformlyadjacent the periphery thereof. These latter slots 16 enableelongatefblade members 18 one of which is illustrated in Fig. 3 totraverse the center plate thickness. The slot is of such a conligurationso as to snugly receive a blade vmember 18 The remainder of the blowerconstruction illustrated comprises opposed end rings 20 whichl areadaptedfto engage lbentlable finger portions 22 'formed integrally withopposed ends of each blade 18 as illustrated in Fig.

3. It will be'noted from Fig. 2 that each end .rir1g'20` is uniformlyapertured about its annular area so as to snugly receive a blade finger22.

Thus, in the normal course of blower assembly, after each blade 18 hastraversed the center plate 12 each end ring engages'the fingers 22disposed at opposed ends of the blade members 18. The lingers 22traverse the openings 24 in each end ring and are bent at right anglesto the remainder of the blade in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2. Toassure permanence of assembly, the bent -linger portions 22 may bewelded or otherwise secured to the outer surfaces of the rings 20against which they are disposed after the latter interlocking operation.

A construction is thus effected following the above-described operationsin which a center -plate is traversed by a plurality of blade members 18and the opposed end limits of each blade member are secured to the endrings 20 which engage the blade fingers 22.

If the blower wheel blade members are somewhat long, it is apparent thatin the normal course of rotation, vibration of the wheel will takeplace. This vibration will be owing to the flexing of the blades and,more particularly, the center portions thereof. However, if the centerportion of each blade is secured in relatively immovable relationship tothe illustrated center plate 12, a rigid blower assembly will beeffected; such an assembly will not vibrate in the normal course ofrotation.

Figs. 2, 4 and 5 illustrate a manner in which each of the elongate blademembers 18 of the provided blower construction may be secured to thecenter plate 12. The only apparatus needed in effecting the latterassembly comprises a deforming wheel or upsetting roll 28 illustrated inFig. 6. `It will be noted from the latter sectional view that theperiphery of the upsetting roll 2S is centrally relieved at 30. Rollportions 32 disposed on eitherside of the recess 30 have rounded outeredge portions for purposes which will hereinafter be made more apparent.The illustrated roll is keyed or otherwise secured to a shaft member 34.

The dimensions of the annular recess 30 disposed in the upsetting roll28 are such as to enable the roll 28 to engage or rotatably ride aboutthe periphery of the center plate 12. Thus, the Width of the annularrecess 30 is such as to snugly receive the thickness of the center plate12 therein. The depth of the recess 30 disposed in the upsetting roll 28is suicient to enable portions of the roll portions 32 having thegreatest diameter, and which deline opposed edges of the recess 30, toengage those blade portions disposed adjacent the opposedpelripheries'of the center plate 12 and shear or otherwise deforrn thesame along planes ydisposed parallel to the opposed surfaces of thelatter plate 12.

The portion or length of blade which will be sheared is obviouslydependent upon the depth of the roll annular recess 30. It will be notedfrom Pig. 6 that, because of the substantially curvilinear coniigurationof the diametrical'cross section of the illustrated deforming orupsetting roll 28, cutting of the blade will only take place alongplanes coincident with opposed surfaces of the center plate and thedeformation of adjacent blade portions will be along tapered lines, asillustrated in Fig. 5. Thus, shearing in two places of each blade memberon opposed sides of the center plate 12 is prevented. The deformationresulting from the engagement of the upsetting roll 28 with a blademember 18 is clearly shown in Fig. 5. Blade portions 13a disposedadjacent each side of the center plate 12 are removed from the plane ofthe remainder of the blade 18 as a result of the deformation or centerportions of each blade 18; that is, as a result of the formation of theshoulders 18a on each side of the center plate 12, each blade will besecurely locked to the center plate 12.

It is apparent that preliminaxily to having the upsetting roll 28 engagethe entire periphery of the center plate 12,

4. care should'be taken to'insure that the plate preferably engagessubstantially the exact center of each blade member 18 for optimumrein-forcing eiect.

Fig. 4 illustrates the slight length of blade edge portion which need bedeformed to assure a stable blade-center plate assembly. In effectingthe deformation of the central portions of each blade 18, it isimmaterial whether the blower assembly 10 remains stationary and thedeforming roll 28 moves about the periphery thereof or whether thelatter roll remains stationary and the blower assembly moves so as tohave the periphery of the center plate 12 engage the recess 30 of theroll 28. Also, although blade portions are illustrated as being cut forpurposes of becoming locked to the center plate, it may be desirablemerely to dimple or deform blade portions without cutting the bladethickness.

It is thus apparent that a centrifugal blower wheel has been providedIwhich utilizes a minimum number of component parts and which isarranged in a state of rigid assembly without the necessity of utilizingdiscrete securing means or securing operations such as welding or thelike. The center plate-blade assembly is readily effected in a minimumamount of time and with a minimum expenditure of effort. The finalblower assembly is rigid in nature and will assure eicient operation. Byutilizing the above-described method, the need for employing two shortsets of blade members where an elongate blower wheel construction isdesired and the need for employing securing means or difficult securingoperations is entirely dispensed with.

Certain modifications of the above described wheel and process forforming the same may be made which will still lie within the ambit ofthe inventive concepts disclosed. It is apparent, for instance, that anumber of blade constructions other than that described may be employedfor securing theopposed ends of each blade member to the oppositelydisposed end rings. Although the blades 18 are illustrated as having acurvilinear crosssectional configuration, it should be noted that theprovided method will function to advantage regardless of the blade crosssection. Also it is apparent that the above described method is notnecessarily limited to use with a member having a substantiallyimperforate cross section, but may of course be equally adapted forlocking blades with rings and the like.

We claim:

1. In a blower wheel'construction, the combination comprising platemeans having a plurality of slots disposed therein, blade meanstraversing said plate means, each of said blade means having a centralportion thereof disposed in a plate slot whereby movement of said bladerelative to said plate in a direction substantially transverse to saidblades longitudinal axis is prevented, each of said blades also havingedge portions thereof sheared from engagement with said blade portiondisposed in sad plate slot abutting against opposed side portions ofsaid plate whereby movement of said blade relative to said plate in adirection parallel to the longitudinal axis of said blade is prevented,said sheared edge portions being removed from the plane of the bladecentral portion within the plate slot.

2. In a blower fwheel construction, the combination comprising platemeans having a plurality of spaced slots adjacent its periphery, blademeans snugly disposed in each of said slots and traversing said platemeans, each of said blade means having a portion there-E disposed in aplate slot whereby movement of said blades relative to said plate in adirection substantially transverse to said blades longitudinal axes isprevented, and edge portions of said blade means sheared from engagementwith said blade portions within said plate slots disposed at an acuteangle to the planes of said blades abutting against opposed sideportions of said plate whereby movements of said blades relative to saidplate in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of said blades isprevented, and a pair of end rings secured to the ends of said blademeans disposed on opposite sides of said plate means.

3. In a blower wheel construction, a center plate, said center platebeing slotted adjacent its periphery, elongate blade members snuglyreceivable in said center plate slots and traversing said plate, endrings disposed on opposed sides of said center plate, each of said blademeans having a portion thereof disposed in a plate slot whereby movementof said blades relative to said plate in a direction substantiallytransverse to said blades longitudinal axes is prevented, each of saidblade means also having edge portions sheared from engagement with saidblade portion disposed in said plate slot abutting against opposed sideportions of said plate and removed from the plane of the blade portionwithin the plate slot whereby movement of said blades relative to saidplate and parallel to the longitudinal axes of said blades is prevented,protuberances of reduced cross section formed integrally with opposedend limits o-f each of said blade members, said end rings having slotsdisposed throughout their annular area, sfaid blade protuberances traVersing said slots land being snugly received therein and having distalportions thereof radially disposed on each of said end rings in thenormal assembled position.

4. In a blower wheel construction, the combination comprising annularmeans having a plurality of slots disposed about peripheral portionsthereof, elongate means traversing said annular means and lhavingportions thereof disposed within said slots whereby said slots aresubstantially completely lled by said elongated means traversingportions, edge portions of said elongate means sheared along the planesdefining opposed sides of said annular means and sheared from Contactwith edge portions of said elongate means disposed in said slots, saidlatter sheared edge portions being removed from the pl-ane of saidelongate means portions disposed in said slots and abutting againstopposed sides of said annular means, portions of said elongate meansformed integrally with and disposed adjacent said sheared edge portionsremaining in the plane of the remaining portions of said elongate meansdisposed in the slots of said annular means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,023,873 Perry Apr. 23, 1912 1,310,864 Hanzlik July 22, 1919 1,637,652Ness Aug. 2, 1927 1,876,518 Mathis Sept. 6, 1932 1,890,226 Mathis Dec.6, 1932 2,209,028 Kortz July 23, 1940 2,231,063 Evans Feb. 11, 19412,496,179 Schwarz Jan. 31, 1950 2,654,529, Smith Oct. 6, 1953 2,673,390Broberg Mar. 30, 1954 2,745,171 King et al. May 15, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS225,640 Great Britain Dec. 11', 1924 623,149 Great Britain May 12, 1949

